Joy never lasts in a poor man’s home. This is what happened to the olive oil industry in the province of Alicante, seeing how the endless rainy season has been recorded recently, when it managed to return to positive numbers two years later without even meeting production costs. 20 days shattered any optimism. And it is that successive storms infect olive trees mercilessly with the deciduous repilo fungus. almost completely ruins the next harvest. The panorama seen ahead is nothing short of encouraging, to the point that some regions are unable to harvest a single olive.
The high olive oil surplus in the two years marked by the coronavirus pandemic has had extremely negative consequences for the oil sector in Alicante province. Production costs are much higher in this region than other production areas, such as Aragon or Andalusia, where dense crops and much higher yields prevail. Complex terrain, particularly in the interior of El Comtat, l’Alcoià, or Las Marinas, works against this.
Thus, while the 2.40 euros paid for a kilo of extra virgin olive oil last year in these communities were profitable for them, in the case of Alicante counties, they were not even enough to cover the costs of harvesting and maintenance. The crop itself is estimated at at least 3 euros. And if that price was already negative, the price of the previous campaign was even worse, because it was only 1.80 euros, which resulted in a significant part of the harvest not being harvested due to the farmers’ proof that they were going to go. to lose money.
The situation has changed dramatically in the last campaign. Although the harvest decreased by about 15%, 45 million kilos of olives, prices spiked during the harvest season, bringing them closer to 3.50 euros per kilo, a real ball of oxygen for an industry going through very low hours. even the price Improved after the outbreak of war in UkraineWhen the supply of sunflower oil from this country was cut off and the monopoly fever for this product rose among consumers, a 50% increase in its price and a recovery in the price of olive oil reached up to 3.80 Euros.
Thus, the panorama that was drawn became optimistic after two years of trouble, but the situation has now taken a radical turn and not because of cyclical factors at the international level, but because of a problem that sometimes arises. a brutal effect on field crops, such as the weather.
And the storm, which has taken the province under its influence until this week, is accumulating. 20 almost consecutive days of precipitationhad a devastating effect on olive trees. Repilo, a fungus that promotes defoliation of trees, exploded with such force that it threatened to minimize the next harvest.
This was pointed out by J.Ulian Ubedanoting that the problem occurs when full bloom is about to begin, La Unió producer and president of the olive sector, “so the normal thing – he points out – is that olive trees do not dry out because they are too weak and the flowers are very exposed because they do not have the protection of the leaves». it is difficult to predict at the moment, but Úbeda, «90% of the next harvest is already lost. Maybe if the humidity disperses due to sunny and hot days, it can recover a bit, but the outlook is extremely negative »
The situation will depend on the regions and cultivars. First, Districts such as Alcoy, El Comtat or Marina Altathe place that gets the most rain has to lose, because it is precisely in these settlements that the olive species most damaged by the consequences of the repilon are concentrated, for example blanceta and, to a lesser extent, manchanell and alfafarenca. Person in charge of the aircraft factory, Hilario Calabuig “Things are looking very badly because there are areas where the defoliation of the trees is very intense, so it will be very difficult to get production,” he does not hesitate to point out.
Expressed in similar terms Juanvi Ferrando, from l’Almàssera de Millena, which points out that blanqueta is the most affected variety in the El Comtat region. However, although this is now the time when the repilon’s presence is revealed, coinciding with the storm, “the problem has already been incubated as a result of the moisture produced by the repetitive fogs”.
On your own behalf Hugo QuintanillaAsaja’s representative and producer of the company Señoríos de Relleu states that the incidence is not very high in his area at the moment, but acknowledges that this will pose a problem that will be reflected in the harvest. Regarding prices, he points out that what has happened in sunflower oil has effectively increased the prices of refined, pomace and seed oils. In any case, the good news is that they’re approaching extra virgin olive oil, “so it’s possible that consumers at similar costs might prefer ours,” he notes.
According to the manager of the El Tendre oil plant, the repilo also showed up in the region, although the rains were not very heavy at Camp d’Elx. joaquin semperewaiting for what may happen in the coming weeks when flowering begins.
Estimates of losses are currently very complex as it will depend on the prices paid for the next campaign and the eventual incidence of the fungus. In any case, and it’s getting worse, It may exceed 40 million euros..
The rain also hit the cherries
Olives are not the only agricultural product in Alicante province that has been severely affected by the long rainy season recorded in recent weeks. The other big victim is the cherry, which has accumulated €4.5 million in losses from the very beginning due to an estimated 60% reduction in harvest. The problem was determined when the bees, which do not leave their hives these days, coincide with the flowering period of the rains that make the flowers caking and prevent pollination. “I don’t remember such a long rainy season,” said Cerezas Montaña de Alicante, president of the Order of Origin, and Hilario Calabuig, president of the Planes cooperative, pointing out that it had very negative consequences. a delicate fruit like a cherry. Now the hope lies in the fact that the weather can accompany subsequent varieties to generate at least some income. It should be noted that the cherry sector has chained many negative campaigns, either due to fruit set problems or, as in most cases, its undoubted main enemy, the rains.